


discovery

by helsinkibaby



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Community: 1-million-words, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Pre Relationship if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:21:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24949126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: 5 people who realised Noelani was a badass, and one person who knew all along.
Relationships: Noelani Cunha & Adam Noshimuri, Noelani Cunha & Danny Williams, Noelani Cunha & Jerry Ortega, Noelani Cunha & Tani Rey, Noelani Cunha/Steve McGarrett
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	discovery

**Author's Note:**

> For the one million words 5 +1 challenge

**1 Adam**  
Adam hadn't had too many dealings with the new Medical Examiner, but when he found Koa overdosed, she was the first person that he thought of to call. There was no way that he wanted to bring the kid to the hospital, not when he knew how hard Tani had been fighting to keep him on the straight and narrow, to keep him away from the cops. 

Besides, the ME's office was closer than any hospital. 

Noelani was waiting for him when his car screeched to a halt, a gurney beside her that Adam lay Koa down on. Noelani might have been diminutive in stature but she was moving almost the second Koa's body hit the surface, positioning his arms and pushing the gurney at the same time, easily wheeling it towards the ME's office. She moved quickly and surely, guiding the gurney, which seemed to have a mind of its own, easily towards her lab and Adam felt like he should offer to help but figured out quickly that he'd just be getting in her way. 

Once inside the lab, she started taking Koa's pulse, checking his heart rate and when she looked at Adam and ordered him to check Koa's pockets, he did as he was told without thinking. Pulling out a packet of little white pills, he showed them to Noelani and without blinking, she told him that they were probably opiates. The next thing Adam knew, she was pulling out a syringe, injecting it into Koa's arm. 

"It's naloxone," she told him. "It reverses the effects of an opiate overdose."

But nothing happened and her frown got a little more pronounced. 

"He's going to need another dose," she said and she did just that. Adam watched her, not able to look away, not able to believe how steady her hand was as she lined up the shot, how in control of the situation she was. His heart was pounding in his chest, his mouth dry and he knew that if he looked at his hands, they would both be trembling. 

He'd been in dangerous situations before, but nothing like this. 

For a second after Noelani pressed the plunger, there was a terrible silence. Then Koa's eyes flew open and he gasped for breath and Adam felt his shoulders sag in relief. Noelani exhaled with a loud whoosh, the only visible sign of the stress she'd been holding in, then her hand moved to Koa's shoulder, holding him down. 

"Koa, my name is Doctor Noelani Cunha, I'm a friend of your sister's... you're going to be fine." 

Koa's eyes roamed over her face, then over her shoulder where they met Adam's. Adam nodded at him once, then stepped beside Noelani, laid a hand on her shoulder. "Good work, Doc," he told her, receiving a tight smile in return. 

He called Tani next, then helped Koa off the gurney and into Noelani's office. She made it there in record time, found Koa with a blanket wrapped around him, Noelani offering him a cup of herbal tea. Tani's face was pale and she was shaking like a leaf and Adam knew that there were things that she needed to say to Koa that she'd never say if he and Noelani were there, so they stepped outside, left them to it. 

Standing in the hallway, he turned and looked down at her. "Thank you," he said simply. "I know I put you in an awkward position..."

Noelani's lips tugged in a small smile. "It's not the first time I've made a house call for Five-0," she told him. "And knowing the adventures that you guys have, I doubt it'll be the last."

Adam chuckled at that. "Ain't that the truth," he murmured. "But still... you were pretty badass in there. Maybe all this time around Five-0 is rubbing off on you."

"Oh please." She rolled her eyes and for a second he thought he'd offended her. "I was a badass way before that." 

Adam grinned - somehow, that didn't seem like too much of a stretch. 

**  
2 Tani**

"Tani, what is this?"

Noelani was looking at her in amazement and Tani shifted on her feet, knowing that her cheeks were, at any minute, going to turn fire engine red. "Just a token of my appreciation," she said, laying the flowers, the large box of chocolates and the card with a gift voucher for Hy’s down on Noelani's desk. "I'm sorry it's taken so long to get them to you, but you know, getting Koa settled in rehab..."

"How's he doing?" Noelani's hand froze in the act of opening the card, her eyes wide and concerned and Tani nodded quickly to reassure her.

"He's good, he's good. He seems to like it there and he wants to get clean..." A wave of emotion swept over her, along with the knowledge of how different things could have been. "And none of that would be possible if it wasn't for you. You saved his life."

Noelani shook her head. "I did what anybody would have done-"

"No, you didn't." Tani didn't feel the slightest bit bad for interrupting her. "You could have told Adam to take him to the hospital. You could have given up after the first shot didn't work." Noelani's eyes went wide - obviously, she didn't realise how much of the details Adam had told her. "But you didn't. He's the only family I have left and if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have him any more. Noelani, I will never be able to thank you enough."

"You don't have to thank me," Noelani said, her eyes suspiciously shiny. "I'm just glad I was there."

Tani's natural impulse when it came to emotions was to make a joke, but when her own eyes started to fill up, she didn't do that, not today. Instead she smiled. "So am I," she said and if both of them shed a tear when she pulled Noelani into a hug, well, she thought that they might be forgiven.

**  
3 Jerry**

"You left a Halloween party to come here with Ground Penetrating Radar?"

Crystal seemed to be having a bit of trouble with the concept, but Noelani didn't blink, didn't turn a hair. Well, Jerry noted, she did actually turn a hair, in that she was having a bit of trouble taking off her Velma wig and between the look on her face and the whispered word that he'd never heard pass her lips before that would have had his mom offering to wash her mouth out, it didn't seem to be going well.

"Yeah, Noelani, when I texted you, I thought you'd wait until morning." Eric looked equal parts awestruck and lovestruck, which was the younger man's usual expression when he looked at Noelani - he'd never quite got over his initial admiration of her, even if Danny had finally managed to stop him expressing it in quite as vivid terms as he once had.

Noelani stared at him like he was crazy. Also, very little change there. "We'd miss most of the day that way," she pointed out. Which had been Jerry's initial reaction; he just hadn't wanted to vocalise it. "Now we can get up at dawn, head out early and get started."

"You know you could have just left the machine, right? You didn't need to stay."

At Ano’s words, Noelani looked at him like he was an idiot. "It's a fifteen thousand dollar piece of machinery, owned by Honolulu County and the State of Hawaii. I'm not letting it out of my sight."

The way she spoke brooked no argument and, suitably chastened, he turned away. Jerry, meanwhile, had just been reminded how much Noelani was putting on the line for him, just how much trouble she’d be in if something happened to the GPR. And yet she’d still come out here in the middle of the night, leaving a costume party to do it. "Thanks Noelani," said Jerry quietly. “This is pretty badass of you.”

She gave him a beaming smile. "No problem."

**  
4 Danny**

There was no reason, Danny knew, why Noelani should have let Steve into her autopsy lab to see Carson Rodes's body. This wasn't a Five-0 investigation, it was nothing to do with Steve. By all rights, he shouldn't have been anywhere near this place right now. 

But Carson Rodes was a Team Guy, a friend of Steve's who he'd been out for a drink with earlier on in the week. 

So when Steve called Noelani and explained that to her, she told him to come in as soon as he could. 

Which she didn't have to do, and she certainly didn't have to let Danny in with him to support him, so Danny knew he should be doubly grateful to her. 

When Steve stood, thanked her for letting them in, Danny pointed to the table at the end of the room. "Are these his personal effects?" 

His hand reached out towards them and Noelani blinked. Evidently pushing the bounds of procedure only went so far. Her gaze swung round to Steve and whatever he saw there had him holding up a hand, explaining that they knew what the rules were and that they weren't asking her to break them. 

For a moment, Danny wondered if his partner had hit his head. Steve, respecting the rules? Especially when a case was personal, as this surely was? 

Noelani looked at Steve a second longer, then back at the little table, the small plastic bag on it. "I need to make a phone call," she said suddenly, and Danny blinked. "I'm going to take it out here-" She pointed to her office. "I should be back in... two or three minutes?" 

"Thank you." There were worlds of gratitude in those two syllables and Steve was already moving towards the table, even as Noelani was walking past him to get to her office. She closed the door firmly behind her and Danny glanced over his shoulder in her direction, then back at Steve. 

"I knew I liked her," he said and, wonder of wonders, even with where they were and why they were there, Steve's lips twitched in the tiniest of smiles. 

"Yeah," he said before turning out the bag onto the table and starting to go through the effects. 

Later on that day, Danny sent Noelani a text message. "Thanks for earlier." 

One came back a few minutes later. "I have no idea what you're talking about." 

But there was a winking emoji beside it and it made Danny smile. 

**  
5 Rachel**

Seeing Charlie come into the hospital waiting room made Rachel smile, and only partly because it diverted what was shaping up to be a disagreement between her and Danny over eating the food that Flippa and Kamekona had brought for them. That said, when Charlie asked where Grace was, the lump in her throat that had been threatening to choke her since she woke up at two in the morning to find Grace not home doubled in size. 

Danny, with an ease born of years of experience, fobbed him off and added in that the hospital was going to be very boring for him, asked him if he wanted to hang out with "Auntie Noelani" and the look on Charlie's face made Rachel's heart sink. She knew that look, it was the look that Charlie got as a toddler every time he was about to throw an almighty tantrum - it was a variation on the look that Danny often got on his face for the exact same reason and if she'd had cause over the last number of years to forget what it looked like, then today had definitely reminded her. 

Plus, she wasn't even sure if she felt comfortable with this Noelani person taking care of Charlie - this was literally the first time Rachel had ever laid eyes on the woman, and only because Danny had volunteered her to collect Charlie from Rachel's neighbour's house and bring him over here. Was she good with kids? Would she know what to do with Charlie? Maybe he'd be better off here, with Rachel, where she could keep an eye on him...

As she was thinking those thoughts, she saw Noelani wrinkle her nose. "No," she said. "My schedule is slammed... I have to go eat an ice cream sundae, then I have to make the new Lego fire station house..."

Those were two of Charlie's favourite things and he instantly brightened, all his attention going to Noelani. 

"I like ice cream and Lego," he announced and Noelani's face dropped in exaggerated surprise. 

"No way! You want to hang?" Charlie nodded enthusiastically and Noelani grinned at him, then looked up at Danny and gave him a little nod. 

"Thanks," Danny said as he hugged Noelani and Charlie went to hug Rachel. The tiniest bit of jealousy twisted in Rachel's stomach and she tried to ignore it. This woman was Danny's friend, she was doing them a favour. 

Then, when she was gone, Danny handed her two bags of things. One for Grace, one for her and he told her that he got Noelani to collect some things for her. Even the caustic comment about his sweatshirt didn't sting like it once might have and when she looked through the bag, found that the woman had picked out the exact things she would have wanted, right down to the small picture of Rachel, Grace and Charlie that she kept on her bedside table, she had to take a deep breath to try to keep back another round of tears at the kindness of the woman who was a friend to Danny but a stranger to her. 

Later - much much later - when Grace was out of surgery and Noelani had bought Charlie over to see her, Rachel found Noelani in the corridor and laid a hand on her arm. "I just wanted to thank you for everything you've done," she said quietly. "You've been so kind... and you're great with Charlie."

"Any time," Noelani told her. "He's a great kid... besides, ice cream and Lego really are two of my favourite things." Her hand closed over Rachel's, squeezed it tightly. "I'll make sure Danny sends you my number... give me a call if you ever need me." 

Rachel looked at her, waiting for the flicker of doubt in her eyes, the look on her face that said she was only doing this because she thought she should, not because she really wanted to. 

It never came. 

So Rachel smiled. "Thank you." 

**  
+1 Steve  
**  
Steve blinked as he walked into the restaurant and saw Max coming towards him, a harried expression on his face. "Hey, buddy, everything ok?" he asked. He knew he was running a little late, but it wasn't so much that Max should have been storming out in a huff. 

"Ah, Commander." Max stopped in his tracks, nodded at him. "I must apologise. Sabrina called me; she is unwell. I must go to check on her."

"Of course, of course." Steve nodded. "We can do this another time."

Max tilted his head. "That is unnecessary, Commander. Doctor Cunha is already inside. I arranged this dinner so that my replacement and the Commander of the Five-0 Task Force could attempt to replicate our close working relationship. I see no reason why it cannot proceed in my absence."

Put like that, Steve had to admit he had a point. He just had a question. "How will I know her?"

Max smiled. "Doctor Cunha is sitting at the bar, on the left hand side as you approach, two stools in. She has dark hair to here-" He indicated a point on his chest. "And is wearing a blue dress." 

"That is a good description." Max moved to step by him, obviously in a hurry and Steve couldn't really blame him. "Hey, let me know how Sabrina is." 

Max waved in acknowledgement and Steve made a mental note to get in touch with him later on before continuing on into the restaurant and heading for the bar. 

Following Max's directions, he found Doctor Cunha easily, but she wasn't alone. Instead, there was a man beside her, wearing a loud Hawaiian shirt, a little south of sober, with a tan line on his finger that could be seen from space. "So tell me," the man said as he leaned in, a motion that had Doctor Cunha's face wrinkling in disgust. "How do you like your eggs in the morning?"

She gave him a smile that, to his drunken gaze, probably looked sweet as pecan pie. Steve, completely sober, could see the steel behind it. So he was slightly prepared when she said, "Unfertilised," before turning her head completely away from him. 

Steve had to press his lips together to keep back a smile as the guy moved away with his tail between his legs. Moving closer to the woman, he decided to say her name first. "Doctor Cunha?" 

She turned to face him, her lips curling in a smile. "Commander McGarrett?" He nodded and as he did so, her face dropped and her head swung in the direction of her would be suitor. "How much of that did you hear?" She looked nervous and Steve couldn't help himself. He grinned. Which was an answer in itself and she closed her eyes tightly, looking as if she wanted to be anywhere else. "Oh my god, this is embarrassing." 

"I thought it was awesome." Steve didn't even try to keep back his chuckle. "And also informative if I ever plan on taking you out to breakfast." Her cheeks flushed and she bit her lip. "Hey, seriously. You have nothing to be embarrassed about."

She lifted one eyebrow. "I was really hoping to make a good impression in my new job," she told him and he didn't have to think about his reply. 

"Trust me, you did." He held out his hand to her. "I'm Steve. It's nice to meet you."

Her grip was firm, her skin warm against his. "Noelani. Nice to meet you too." 

He held out his elbow towards her, gave her what he hoped was his most charming grin. "May I?"

She looked impressed. "You may." Her hand slipped inside his arm and he led her to the maitre d', who showed them to their table. When they each had a glass of wine in their hand, Steve held up his. "To new beginnings," he said and when she smiled and brought her glass to his, he was suddenly glad that Max had had to leave early. 

This, he thought, could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.


End file.
